Bailey getting back on track

January 13, 2014

Lowell Bailey of Lake Placid turned in two top 25 finishes this weekend at the World Cup biathlon event in Ruhpolding, Germany.

Bailey finished 25th in the 20-kilometer individual race Saturday after hitting 18 of 20 targets and clocking a time of 51 minutes, 22.3 seconds. He came back Sunday to take 21st in the 12.5k pursuit race with one penalty and a time of 33:59.3.

"I feel good about the race (Sunday)," Bailey said in a press release. "I spent a little extra time in the last stage to make sure I hit my last shot, but I got the hit. There was incredibly good shooting overall from the field today which seems to be the norm for Ruhpolding over the last few years. Overall, I'm happy with this weekend coming off of the New Year's cold I had. I'm looking forward to next week's races in Italy."

Emil Hegle Svendsen of Norway was the top pursuit finisher in 32:38.2. Jakov Fak of Slovenia took second in 32:56.2 and Evgeniy Garanichev of Russia was third in 32:59.6/+1.

Tim Burke of Paul Smiths placed 34th in Sunday's pursuit with a time of 35:05.1 and one miss. He was 56th in Saturday's 20k individual competition in 54:05.2.

"Today was definitely one of my best races this season," Burke said Sunday in a press release. "Unfortunately, I was starting too far back for my result to reflect the performance. In any case, it was good confirmation that my fitness and shooting are on track when I put them together on the same day. Now I am looking forward to next week's World Cup in Italy on my favorite venue."

Svendsen also won Saturday's race with a time of 48:58.5.

The World Cup biathlon series continues Thursday in Antholz-Anterselva, Italy.